Pipe thread cutting and assembly machine

ABSTRACT

A thread cutting machine for pipes which comprises a machine base on which pipe holding chucks, a pipe rotation drive mechanism, a thread cutting mechanism and a threaded coupling holding chuck mechanism adapted to hold a threaded coupling such as socket, elbow or the like in position are provided. The machine is capable of fastening the threaded coupling to the pipe after the pipe threads have been formed as well as the inherent pipe cutting-off and thread cutting functions.

This is a division of application Ser. No. 193,105, filed Oct. 2, 1980.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a pipe thread cutting machine which is capableof performing the operation of the fastening of a threaded pipe couplingsuch as a socket, elbow or the like onto or into a threaded pipe as wellas the cutting-off and thread cutting operations on the pipe.

It has been widely known that thread cutting machines for pipes are usedwhich are adapted to cut a pipe into a pipe section of a predeterminedlength and then cut threads in the pipe section, as the case may be,after reaming. For example, such conventional type thread machines aredisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,095,772. However, since the conventionalpipe thread cutting machines of this type have been designed toexclusively perform the operation of cutting-off and thread cutting onpipes, the fastening of a threaded coupling such as a socket, elbow orthe like into or onto the threaded pipe has to be performed in aseparate or additional manual step outside of the thread cuttingmachine. Therefore, a demand exists for a pipe thread cutting machinewhich can perform in succession the operation of cutting-off and threadcutting on a pipe and the operations of fastening of a threaded couplingonto or into the pipe following the thread cutting on the pipe in abrief time space and with high efficiency.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a pipethread cutting machine which can satisfactorily meet the demand.

The above and other objects and attendant advantages of the presentinvention will be more readily apparent to those skilled in the art froma reading of the following detailed description in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings which show preferred embodiments of the presentinvention for illustration only but not for the purpose of limiting thescope of the same in any way.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a first embodiment of the presentinvention with a portion thereof shown cut away;

FIG.2 is a front elevational view of the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary rear elevational view of a pipe cutter with achuck mechanism according to a second embodiment of the presentinvention, with a portion thereof shown cut away;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary front elevational view of a die head with achuck mechanism according to a third embodiment of the present inventionwith a portion thereof shown cut away;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 3, but showing a fourth embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary front elevational view on an enlarged scale of aportion of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 1, but showing a fifth embodiment ofthe present invention with a portion thereof eliminated for the purposeof clarity of illustration; and

FIG. 8 is a front elevational view of the embodiment of FIG. 7, with aportion thereof shown cut away.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

The present invention will be now described referring to theaccompanying drawings and more particularly, to FIGS. 1 and 2 of thedrawings in which a first embodiment of a pipe thread cutting machine ofthe invention is shown. In FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral 1 denotesthe base of the pipe thread cutting machine, and a drive mechanism 3with pipe holding chucks 2, 2 is mounted on a rearward portion of themachine base 1 whereas a cutter mechanism 4 for cutting threads on apipe and a chuck mechanism 5 for holding a threaded coupling such as asocket or the like, for example, which is adapted to be screwed into oronto the threads formed on the pipe are mounted on a forward portion ofthe machine base 1. Reference numeral 6 denotes a reciprocal slide orcarriage which is guided along a pair of longitudinally extendingparallel guide rods 7, 7' for slidable movement toward and away from thedrive mechanism 3, and a feed handle 8 is mounted on the reciprocalslide 6. Secured to one or the inner end of the shaft of the feed handle8 is a pinion 9 which meshes with a rack 10 formed on one of the guiderods 7. Three hinges 11a, 11b, 11c are provided on the reciprocal slide6 in a selected longitudinally spaced relationship along one side edgeof the slide 6 and a corresponding number of receiving members 12a, 12b,12c are also provided along the other side edge of the reciprocal slide6 in the above-mentioned selected longitudinally spaced relationship tomake pairs in cooperation with the corresponding opposed hinges 11a,11b, 11c, respectively. The rearmost hinge 11a swivelably supports oneend portion 13a of a substantially C-shaped frame member 13 of the chuckmechanism 5. Namely, the portion 13a of the frame member 13 is securedto a connector 23a which is in turn pivoted to the rearmost hinge 11a.The connector 23a allows the position of the frame member 13 to beadjusted in the direction of the frame axis. The frame member 13 has atthe inside of the portion 13a a pawl 14a exchangeably attached thereto.The frame member 13 also includes an inside guide rail 15 extending inthe longitudinal direction thereof and a pawl holder or movable member18 is slidably mounted on the guide rail. The movable member 18 has atthe inside thereof a pawl 17a exchangeably attached thereto and isattached to one end of a threaded shaft 16a of a handle 16 so that asthe handle 16 is turned in one or the other direction, the pawl 17amoves toward or away from the pawl 14a. Thus, the entire chuck mechanism5 is swingable between a substantially upright position (FIG. 2) and asubstantially horizontal position and is also adjustable so that theposition of the pawl 14a is adjusted to compensate for variations in thediameter of a pipe to be processed.

As in the attachment of the frame member 13 to hinge 11a, theintermediate hinge 11b supports one end portion of a substantiallyC-shaped frame member 13' of a pipe cutter 4a, which forms a part of thecutter mechanism 4, through a connector 23b. The frame member 13' issubstantially similar to the frame member 13 of the chuck mechanism 5.The frame member 13' has at the inside of the one end portion thereof apair of rollers 19, 19 rotatably journalled thereat. A movable member18' is slidably mounted on a frame rail 15' and is attached to the innerend of a threaded shaft 16a' which is suitably journalled at the otherportion of the frame member 13'. A conventional rotary cutter blade 20is supported by the movable member 18' at the inner end thereof. Ahandle 16' is attached at the outer end of the shaft 16a' so that as thehandle 16' is turned in one or the other direction, the rotary cutterblade 20 supported by the movable member 18' moves toward or away fromthe rollers 19, 19. Thus, as in the case of the chuck mechanism 5, theentire pipe cutter 4a is swingable between a substantially uprightposition and a substantially horizontal position (FIG. 2) and is alsoadjustable so that the position of the rollers 19, 19 is adjusted tocompensate for variations in the diameter of a pipe to be processed.

The leading hinge 11c swivelably supports one end portion of aconventional die head 4b so that it is movable between a substantiallyvertical position and a substantially horizontal position (FIG. 2). Theconstruction of the die head 4b is conventional, so it will beunnecessary to explain it.

The above-mentioned receiving members 12a, 12b and 12c respectivelysupport a free end of the frame member 13 of the chuck mechanism 5a,free end of the frame member 13' of the pipe cutter 4a and a free end ofthe die head when they are in their horizontal positions and therebyensure alignment of the centers of each of the chuck mechanism 5, pipecutter 4a and die head 4b with a pipe to processed.

The operation of the first embodiment of thread cutting machine asdescribed hereinabove and illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 will now bedescribed referring to FIGS. 1 and 2. First of all, the chuck mechanism5 and the die head 4b of the cutter mechanism 4 are set in theirsubstantially upright positions and only the pipe cutter 4a of thecutter mechanism 4 is rotated about the hinge 11b to a predeterminedsubstantially horizontal position. Thereafter, the pipe holding chucks2, 2 are caused to hold a pipe of an indefinite length to be processedin position and the drive mechanism 3 is then driven and at the sametime, the handle 16' is turned to advance the rotary cutter blade 20 ofthe pipe cutter 4a to cut a pipe section of a predetermined length.Thereafter, the pipe cutter 4a is pivoted to a substantially uprightposition and a reamer (not shown) chamfers one end of the pipe sectionas the case may be. After the chamferring operation, the die head 4b ismoved from the upright position to a predetermined substantiallyhorizontal position about the hinge 11c and then is axially moved tocause cutter blades 22 to perform a predetermined or desired threadcutting operation on the pipe section. The above-mentioned operationsteps to be performed by the thread cutting machine of the invention aresubstantially identical with those to be performed by any conventionalthread cutting machine. However, according to the present invention,after threads have been formed at the ends and/or in anotherpredetermined portion of the pipe section, instead of the die head 4bbeing pulled away from the pipe section and being rotated to the uprightposition, a threaded coupling such as a socket or elbow adapted to bescrewed into or onto the threads on the pipe section is held between thepawls 14a and 17a on the chuck mechanism 5 and the die head is rotatedto a predetermined substantially horizontal position about the hinge11c. Thereafter, when the drive mechanism 3 is driven to cause thethreads on the pipe section to threadably engage with the threads on thecoupling while the pipe section is being held by the chucks 2, 2 thecoupling is connected to the pipe section. Therefore, the coupling canbe threaded on the pipe section during a series of operation stepsfollowing the thread cutting operation on the pipe section. Thus, theconnection of the coupling with the pipe section can be simply andpositively performed without requiring any separate manual work as wasconventionally necessary in the field, and thus the efficiency of theseries of operation steps can be substantially improved.

Referring now to FIG. 3 of the accompanying drawings in which the secondembodiment of a thread cutting machine for pipes of the invention isfragmentarily shown, the second embodiment is basically identical withthe first embodiment with respect to the construction and arrangement ofthe components except that the chuck mechanism 5 is provided on the pipecutter 4a which forms a portion of the cutter mechanism 4 mounted on thereciprocal slide 6. More particularly, in the second embodiment of thethread cutting machanism, a frame member used exclusively for the chuckmechanism 5 is not provided and instead the frame member 13' is commonlyemployed for both the pipe cutter 4a and the chuck mechanism 5. Themovable member 18' slidably mounted on the guide rail 15' of the framemember 13' has a support 24 mounted thereon. The support 24 is providedat the leading end thereof with a pawl 17b which is slidable along themovable member 18' in the direction of the guide rail 15'. The support24 has a pin 25 which is adapted to be manually and selectively insertedinto one or the other of two holes 26, 27 in the movable member 18'. Byinserting the pin 25 into either the hole 26 or 27, the pawl 17b can beheld in a desired projected or retracted position. One or the left-handend portion of frame member 13' has a support 28 which is provided atone end or the inner end with a pawl 14b and is slidable along the oneend portion of the frame member 13' in the direction of the guide rail15'. The support 28 further has a pin 29 which is adapted to be manuallyand selectively inserted into either one of two holes 30, 31 in theabove-mentioned one end portion of the frame member 13' so that the pawl14b can be adjusted in its projected or retracted position. These pawls14b, 17b form the chuck mechanism 5. When the chuck mechanism 5 with theabove construction is operated, the pawls 14b, 17b are positionedsomewhat forwardly of the rollers 19, 19 and cutter blade 20 and on theother hand, when the pipe cutter 4a is operated, the pawls 14b, 17b aremoved to positions rearwardly of the rollers 19, 19 and cutter blade 20.

FIG. 4 of the accompanying drawings shows the third embodiment of athread cutting mechanism of the invention and this embodiment isbasically identical with the first embodiment with respect to theconstruction and arrangement of the components except that the chuckmechanism 5 is provided on the die head 4b which forms a part of thecutter mechanism 4 mounted on the reciprocal slide 6. More particularly,in the third embodiment, a frame member used exclusively for the chuckmechanism 5 is not provided and instead a main body 21 of the die head4b has two pawls 14c, 17c mounted thereon for advancement and retractionmovement in addition to four cutter blades 22. When the die head 4b isoperated, the four cutter blades 22 are positioned somewhat forwardly ofthe pawls 14c, 17c and on the other hand, when the chuck mechanism 5 isoperated, the cutter blades 22 are positioned somewhat rearwardly of thepawls 14c, 17c.

The advancement and retraction movements of the pawls 14c, 17c areeffected by turning the knobs 23, 33 secured to the outer ends ofmale-threaded rods 34 (only one of the threaded rods is shown in FIG. 4)in threaded engagement with female-threaded interiors of the main bodiesof the pawls and keyed to the pawl main bodies.

Incidentally, the position of the chuck mechanism 5 is not limited inany way to that shown in the above embodiments, but rather the chuckmechanism 5 may be mounted on a reamer. It is generally followed thatthe drive mechanism 3 with the chucks 2, 2 is secured to a rearwardportion of the machine base and the cutter mechanism 4 is mounted on thereciprocal slide 6. Even in such a case, if the chuck mechanism usedexclusively for the reciprocal slide 6 is not provided, but when thechuck mechanism is provided on the pipe cutter 4a forming a part of thecutter mechanism 4 or on the die head 4b as shown in the embodiment ofFIG. 3 or 4, since it is only necessary to replace only the pipe cutteror die head in any conventional pipe thread cutting machine with thecounterparts as shown in FIG. 3 or 4 without requiring any separateframe member for the cutter mechanism, a light weight thread cuttingmachine can be made with less expense.

Now referring to FIGS. 5 and 6 which show the fourth embodiment of athread cutting machine for pipes of the present invention, in thisembodiment, the movable member 18' is formed on the inner or front endwith a recess 15 and a chuck pawl 40 is received in and pivoted withinthe recess 35 by means of a pin 37. The chuck pawl 40 comprises a mainbody 37 having two angular pawl portions 36 at the leading end and asubstantially circular bifurcated mounting portion 39 having a notch 38at the base end. The chuck pawl 40 is adjustable so as to vary theorientation of the pawl portions 36. The one or left end portion of theframe member 13' opposing the chuck pawl 40 is provided with rollers 19,19 which cooperate with the chuck pawl 40 to form the chuck mechanism 5.Furthermore, the cutter blade 20 is interposed between the mountingbifurcations 39, 39 of the chuck pawl and is pivoted to the recessed endof the movable member 18'. When the chuck pawl 40 is so positioned thatthe tips of the pawl portions 36 protrude forwardly of the recessed endof the movable member 18' (the solid line position), the tips of thepawl portions 36 are positioned forwardly of the blade edge of thecutter blade 20. However, when the pawl portions 36 are pivoted to theupright position as shown by the phantom lines in FIG. 6, the blade edgeof the cutter blade 20 is positioned forwardly of the tips of the pawlportions 36. When the pawl portions 36 are in the latter position, therotary cutter blade 20 at the end of the movable member 18' and therollers 19, 19 at the opposed end of the frame member 13' form a part ofthe pipe cutter mechanism 5. In FIGS. 5 and 6, reference numeral 23bdenotes a connector for securing the frame member 13' to the hinges 11b,reference numeral 41 denotes stop ball receiving holes provided in thechuck pawl 40 to secure the chuck pawl 40 to mounting plates 42, 42 onthe movable member 18', and reference numeral 43 denotes a stop ballprovided in the mounting plates 42 and selectively urged into one or theother of the holes 41 under the force of a spring (not shown). With theabove-mentioned construction and arrangement of the components of thefourth embodiment of the thread cutting machine, when the cuttermechanism is operated, the tips of the pawl portions 36 on the chuckpawl are positioned rearwardly of the blade edge of the rotary cutterblade 20 and the rotary cutter blade 20 and the rollers 19, 19 at theleft end portion of the frame member 13' are employed. On the otherhand, when the chuck mechanism is operated, the tips of the pawlportions 36 on the chuck pawl 40 are positioned forwardly of the bladeedge of the cutter blade 20 and the operation handle 16' is turned so asto cause the chuck mechanism comprising the chuck pawl 40 and rollers19, 19 to hold a threaded coupling such as a socket or elbow adapted tobe screwed onto or into the threads on a pipe.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show the fifth embodiment of a thread cutting machine forpipes of the present invention. In this embodiment, instead of the chuckmechanism 5 mounted on the reciprocal slide 6 being hinged to thereciprocal slide 6, the chuck mechanism is opened and closed on theslide 6. To put it more precisely, the chuck mechanism 5 includes athreaded rod 44 rotatably mounted on the reciprocal slide 6, and the rod44 is provided with opposite-hand threads 45, 46 for threaded engagementwith the chuck bodies 47, 47. Guide rods 48, 48 extend through the chuckbodies 47, 47 and when the handle 49 secured to one end of the threadedrod 44 is turned in one or the other direction, the chuck bodies 47, 47are caused to move toward or away from each other to thereby adjust thedistance between chuck pawls 50, 50 mounted on the chuck bodies 47, 47.

With the above-mentioned construction and arrangement of the componentsof the fifth embodiment as described above and illustrated in FIGS. 7and 8, while the pipe having the threaded end or ends is being held bythe chucks 2, 2 in the rearward portion of the machine base 1 and thethreaded piping coupling such as a socket and elbow is being held by thethreaded coupling holding chuck mechanism 5 in the forward portion ofthe machine base 1, when the drive mechanism 3 is drive, since the pipeis rotated by the rotating chucks 2, 2, but the threaded coupling isheld against rotation by the chuck mechanism 5, the threaded coupling isinstantly screwed onto or into the adjacent threaded end of the threadedpipe. After the connection of the coupling with the threaded pipe, it isonly necessary to terminate the operation of the drive mechanism 3 andrelease the threaded coupling from the chuck mechanism and release thethreaded pipe from the chucks 2, 2.

As is clear from the foregoing description in connection with severalpreferred embodiments of the invention, according to the presentinvention, there have been provided thread cutting machines for pipeswherein the threaded-connection between a pipe and a coupling can beeasily and positively performed following the inherent cuttingoperations such as the pipe cutting-off and thread cutting operationsand thus, the present invention contributes greatly to the art.

While several embodiments of the invention have been shown and describedin detail, it will be understood that the same are for the purpose ofillustration only and not to be taken as a definition of the invention,reference being had for such purpose to the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A pipe thread cutting machine comprising:amachine base having mounted thereon pipe holding chucks and a drivingmechanism for rotating a pipe held by said holding chucks; a reciprocalcarriage slidably mounted on said base for selective movement toward andaway from said holding chucks; pipe cutting means mounted on andsupported by said carriage for selectively cutting a pipe rotated bysaid driving mechanism; thread cutting means mounted on and supported bysaid carriage for selectively cutting threads into an end of a piperotated by said driving mechanism; and chuck mechanism means mounted onand supported by said carriage for selectively holding a threadedcoupling, whereby upon rotation of a pipe by said driving mechanism thecoupling is threaded onto a threaded end of the pipe, said chuckmechanism means being pivotally mounted on said carriage for movementbetween an open withdrawn position and a closed operable position.
 2. Amachine as claimed in claim 1, wherein said pipe cutting means and saidthread cutting means each include a respective frame member pivotallymounted on said carriage for respective independent movement between anopen withdrawn position and a closed operable position.
 3. A machine asclaimed in claim 2, wherein said chuck mechanism means includes a framemember, separate from and movable independently of said frame members ofsaid pipe cutting means and said thread cutting means, pivotally mountedon said carriage.
 4. A machine as claimed in claim 2, wherein said chuckmechanism means is mounted on said frame member of pipe cutting means.5. A machine as claimed in claim 2, wherein said frame member of saidthread cutting means has mounted thereon a die head having threadcutting blades, and said chuck mechanism means is mounted on said diehead.